Former Black Stars striker Augustine Ahinful is hopeful his former playing mate Charles Kwablan Akonnor will succeed as coach of the national football team.

Akonnor has been at the helm of affairs for four months now following his appointment in January. He replaced Kwesi Appiah who left in December last year.

The former Black Stars captain has been tasked with ending country’s long wait for a major trophy by winning 2021 Africa Cup of Nations and also qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Though Ahinful admits the targets are quite difficult to achieve, he trusts his former teammate Akonnor to be successful.

“I only hope it can work well. CK [Akonnor] has played professional football before and knows what to do to succeed. I told him before that national team football is a different animal,” Ahinful said Saturday’s Joy Sports Link with Nathaniel Attoh.

He added; “You look at the different egos and study them. You have to manage the different characters well. If CK brings the cup [AFCON], he will be named in history.”

Black Stars last won the Africa Cup of Nations in 1982. Since then, the team has fallen short at winning it.

Ahinful during his playing days did the best that he could to win the trophy but to no avail.

The 45-year-old featured 19 times for the Black Stars.